Time and Again
by FunkyJunkie123
Summary: L/L **COMPLETE** PLEASE REVIEW!!!
1. Love, Troubadours but no daisies

Alrighty then. After being inspired by the final episodes of "Felicity", I've decided to write a fan fic on how I think season 2 should have gone… Before you freak out and get all confused, it starts off right after the season 2 final and then goes back… if you saw Felicity you'll get what I'm on about! I've done this pretty much from Lorelai's point of view, so a number of scenes which didn't involve her won't happen in this fic… 

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. I wish I did… _if_ I did I wouldn't have put this fic on fanfiction.net, I would have printed it out all pretty, given it to Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson etc and gotten them to act it out in front of the pretty cameras and put it on the TV… 

Also, a fair bit of the first part of this fic will actually be from the show – I've stolen a few lines here and there, so sorry about that… if it's against some kinda law, I'm really sorry, but there isn't any way around it…

-----

CHAPTER ONE: Love, Troubadours but no daisies…

Lorelai Gilmore sat in her bed trying to read that stupid Colette biography for what seemed the hundredth time, but she just couldn't concentrate. It was Saturday night and she was home alone… again. Rory had been in Washington for two weeks, Sookie was still on her honeymoon and Lorelai and Luke still hadn't made up. She had decided that the last two weeks of her life had, for lack of a better word, sucked. As she snuggled down into the covers of her nice, clean bed, she tried to remember when everything had started to go so wrong. She started thinking about what she would change if she could do it all over again. She tried to think of one particular moment where, given the opportunity, she would do something differently. 

Sighing, Lorelai placed her book on the bedside table and was about to turn off the light when she suddenly decided on _the _moment. _The_ time that she would like to do over. She smiled weakly to herself as she turned off the light, rolled over and closed her eyes.

*******

Lorelai was woken suddenly by a loud, annoyingly repetitive banging noise coming from outside.

"Dear God Almighty Mr Mirkle!" she said to herself, before crinkling her eyebrows and shaking her head slightly. "Woah, déjà vu…" 

Making her way downstairs, Lorelai was about to go outside and investigate when she noticed Rory's bedroom door open a crack. She frowned for the second time that morning as she pushed open Rory's door, muttering to herself something about being sure she'd closed the door last night.   
  
"Oh my God!" Lorelai yelped as she put a hand to her chest, reassuring herself that her heart was still there and not in her throat as she'd thought. 

Rory rolled over in her bed and, squinting in the early morning sunlight, let out a "what?" before burying her head under the pillows. 

  
"What do you mean, what? What are you doing here? You're meant to be in Washington! Did you get kicked out or something? Why didn't you wake me when you got in?" Lorelai suddenly stopped herself when she realised that even for her, this many questions was far too many for first thing in the morning. 

"Mom, what are you talking about? Did you have another weird dream? Do you need to consult nice Mr Freud again?" Rory mocked her mother.

"Huh? What do you mean what am I talking about. You. Washington. Me. Alone. Big house. No Rory…" Lorelai stopped her jibbering rant when her concentration was suddenly broken as she heard the annoying banging noise again. "And what the _hell_ is that _noise_?" 

"Why not go investigate, Rainman?"

Lorelai glared at Rory as she left the room. "And I'm gonna deal with you and the whole Washington thing later, missy!"

When Lorelai walked out onto her front porch and saw Luke hammering her porch rail she was taken aback. Luke was at her house. Helping her. Being nice. And she still had that stupid déjà vu thing going on…

"What are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you too" Luke replied curtly as always. 

"You know what I mean. What happened to Mr 'I don't ever want to be nice to Lorelai again'?"

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but you need some coffee. It's obviously far too early in the morning for you. And to answer your first question, I'm fixing your porch rail" Luke replied, shaking the rail to show Lorelai that he did actually have a reason for being at her house at six thirty in the morning. 

Lorelai suddenly found herself staring at a scrape on one of the palings of her porch. The déjà vu wasn't going away…

"What did you do to my rail? It was fine yesterday. You only fixed it a few months ago!" Lorelai was suddenly aware that she was on the verge of yelling at Luke and mentally slapped herself for doing so. This conversation was the longest they'd had in months and she wasn't going to screw it up. "Sorry, Luke. You're probably right about the coffee thing. You want to come in and have some tea or something?"

"Nah, I've gotta do this and then go home and open the diner. But thanks." Luke smiled a genuine smile and Lorelai felt her heart warm slightly. She'd missed him so much and not even begun to realise it. 

"I should be getting inside." Lorelai stopped herself just as she was about to try and open the front door. "It's really good to see you, Luke." She smiled one of her trademark smiles at him before reaching for the door handle, ready to make a stunning exit, only to find the door locked. "Ah! RORY!" Lorelai yelled as she began banging on the front door. 

Babette, having been woken by all the commotion, came out her front door and called to Lorelai. "Lorelai, sugar, you're waking up the entire neighborhood. Please!" 

Not for the first time that morning, Lorelai shook her head and had the strangest feeling that she'd been in this situation before. She was still shaking her head when Rory opened the front door and grumbled "First you accuse me of being here when I should be in… Washington?" Rory raised her eyebrows "and now you get me outta bed. I am officially annoyed."

Lorelai was about to say something about blaming Luke, but she stopped herself, turned around and realised Luke was nowhere to be seen. Lorelai found herself staring at the same scrape in the paling once again as she muttered to herself "I'm not crazy…"

"I know" said Rory reassuringly as she lead her mother inside the house and closed the front door. 

*******

Lorelai had eventually made her way to work, still very confused. She had thoroughly confused Rory with her psychobabble and was still having a very strange Groundhog-Day-esque morning. 

As she approached the front desk of the Inn, carrying a very large stack of folders, the phone began to ring. Lorelai continued to separate the files, waiting for Michel to answer the telephone. When he didn't appear to be even considering approaching the phone, Lorelai sighed and said "Michel, get that please."

Looking very demure, Michel replied "I cannot."

"Why not? And don't give me any of that ennui crap. You've tried that before and this time, it ain't gonna work!" Lorelai smiled to herself, pleased at how professional and boss-like she sounded. 

"I have not _tried_ anything before. Do not go spreading accusations like that. False accusations can ruin a gentleman's reputation," Michel said, straightening his jacket. "And if you must know, yes, today I am suffering from ennui." 

"Eh, are you sure you don't just want some coffee?" Lorelai suggested as she made her way into the kitchen with Michel following close behind. She was about to make a joke about a cow when she stopped herself and for what seemed the fiftieth time that day, shook her head. When Lorelai noticed Sookie looking sluggish and somewhat depressed, Lorelai stopped and giggled. 

  
"What is this? Are you guys trying to make me think I'm Bill Murray?"

Sookie and Michel both looked at Lorelai strangely. Sookie looked concerned, while Michel looked amused. He was about to make an insulting remark when Lorelai's cell phone rang. 

"I'll deal with you two when I'm finished," she said as she pressed the 'talk' button on her phone. "Hello?" 

Lorelai nearly fell over when she heard the voice on the other end of the line reply "Is this a bad time?"

  
Why on earth would Max be calling her? She had broken up with him nearly a year ago. Things had ended badly. Very badly. But considering how strange her day had been thus far, she shouldn't have been surprised to have heard Al Gore on the end of the phone, let alone Max. 

"Um, hi. No, not a bad time… what's up? How've you been?" Lorelai stopped herself before she rambled on so much that she began to discuss the weather. 

"Ah, I'm good. I just wanted to say hi and thanks for last night."

Lorelai had to sit down as she tried to take in Max's last sentence. She started to think about all that had happened since she'd woken up – Rory was home, Luke was being nice, the whole ennui incident and now _Max_. She inhaled sharply as she said to Max "I _am_ Bill Murray!"

Max chuckled a bit as he replied "What?"

But she didn't hear him. She had already hung up the phone, grabbed her purse and run out the front door of the Inn, leaving Michel, Sookie and Max very confused.

*****

*****

I've written a whole lot more, but am trying to figure out how to put it all together. I'll post as soon as I can… but in the meantime, please review so I know that all my hard work isn't for nothing… 


	2. Rude Awakenings

Thanks everyone who reviewed. I'm so stoked that you like my story! It's taking way longer than I thought, though. I was originally gonna post each episode as one chapter, but there are just so many scenes, it can't be done… And no, I really don't want things to take the same route as Felicity – I promise you, Luke or Dean will not die… or Max or Jess for that matter, but you get what I mean… But I have to say, Felicity made the right choice choosing Ben. I mean – come ON! That guy is HOT! Okay, waaaay off track here… back to the story… hope you like it and remember to keep reviewing!!!

*****

CHAPTER 2: Rude Awakenings 

"RORY!" Lorelai yelled as she entered her front door. "RORY!!!" 

Suddenly, Lorelai realised that Rory was at school. Where she should be. Because it was _not_ summer and Rory was _not _supposed to be in Washington. And Rory had never broken her arm and therefore Lorelai had never told Luke to go to hell. She had also never told Max that she would marry him and never broken his heart. No, broken wasn't the word for it… smashed his heart. Smashed his heart into a million tiny pieces. She knew that feeling all too well. She had felt that when Christopher had left her at Sookie's wedding and returned to Boston to be with Sherry. And that is why this was _the _moment she wanted to relive. She wanted to save Max from having to feel the pain she knew all too well. This was _the _moment she had been thinking about before going to sleep last night… well, not _last _last night, but… 

"Eh, my head hurts" Lorelai complained as she sat down on the couch and waited for Rory to come home.

*******

When Lorelai woke up, the first thing she saw was plaid and she sat up with a start. She had been dreaming about a psychotic Scotsman so being woken by someone wearing something that resembled a kilt did not sit well with her. 

  
"Mom, what's this?" Rory held 'The Dean Box' in her lap.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you found that today…" Lorelai said sleepily.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but if it's some lame attempt at changing the subject, it's not good enough," Rory fumed. "You'd have to bring up something to do with a Milli Vanilli reunion to distract me right now!" 

"I'm sorry, Rory, but I couldn't throw it out. Dean is your first boyfriend and whether you believe it now or not, one day you will go through this box and remember all the happy memories… one day you'll be glad I saved it for you, I promise." Lorelai tried her hardest not to say what she remembered saying _last_ time she lived this very same moment. And although she'd said that Dean 'is' Rory's boyfriend, Rory obviously didn't notice.

"Thanks… I guess." Rory half smiled before looking at her mother with concern. "What's up?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain it…"

"Come on, spill. Something's getting to you and it's obviously not anything to do with what happened on 'Dawson's Creek' last night. This is far worse than the 'I can't believe Joey's still obsessed with Dawson' face, this is more like the 'Why did they have to make Jack gay' look."

Lorelai smiled at her daughter who was obviously very concerned about her mom. But she couldn't tell Rory just yet. She still needed to figure everything out for herself. "How 'bout we talk about this later? I'm feeling a bit sleepy still. You should go look through your box."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom," Rory said as she stood up, kissing her mother on the head before walking into her room and quietly shutting the door behind her. 

*******

That night, Rory and Lorelai sat in Luke's diner, devouring their meals. 

"And Dean wasn't in the market?" Lorelai asked.

"No! He's moving on…" Rory said miserably.  
  
"I promise you, babe, he is far from moving on!" Lorelai half laughed to herself.

  
"What? What do you know?" Rory eyed her mother suspiciously. 

"No… I mean… it's just…" Lorelai sighed dramatically, placing her fork on her plate and folding her hands on her lap. She wasn't ready to get into anything too serious tonight. "He loves you, babe. He's not gonna get over that any time soon."

Rory smiled slightly and suddenly got her appetite back.

*******

The next day, Lorelai was passing by Miss Patty's studio when she noticed Rachel walking towards her. 

"Lorelai!" Rachel called.

"Hey, Rachel" Lorelai responded. 

"Hey, have you seen Luke around?"

Lorelai couldn't help but be a little bit wigged out by seeing Rachel. Yesterday she had spoken to Max on the phone – that was weird enough, but actually _seeing_ Rachel was just strange. 

"Um, have you checked the diner?"

"Nope. He's meant do be there, but he's not… I thought _you _might have seen him?" Rachel hadn't meant to sound a bit jealous, but when she'd said 'you', it sounded decidedly catty, and Lorelai noticed. Lorelai also noticed that Rachel hadn't mentioned tuna. She distinctly remembered talking to Rachel about tuna during this conversation…

"Um, no, sorry." Lorelai tried to restrain herself, but couldn't hold it in any longer. Luke was one of her best friends and she couldn't not ask Rachel… 

"Look, Rachel, you're not planning to leave anytime soon, are you? I mean, leave leave. Leave Luke." As soon as she'd said it, she felt stupid. It had sounded as if she was hanging out for Rachel to leave so she could swoop in and steal the diner man.

"I knew it!" was all Rachel could say. She was heartbroken, but she had seen it coming. "I knew it," she repeated more quietly.

"What did you know?" Lorelai was unprepared for how Rachel had reacted. Last time around, this part of the conversation hadn't happened.

"You like Luke, don't you?" Rachel asked.

  
Lorelai automatically became defensive. "Of course I like Luke. I've known him for years. He's my main source of coffee and food, and as you and I know, those are two of my favourite things, making Luke one of my favourite things also… not that I see Luke as a thing… that is… I mean…" Lorelai, for the first time in a long time couldn't think of anything to say.

  
"You know exactly what I mean, Lorelai." And with that, Rachel walked away, towards the diner. 

*******

Lorelai entered her house with her mail in hand. She placed the mail on the hall table and was about to go into the kitchen to get some coffee when she heard noises coming from upstairs. But this time, Lorelai was prepared. She remembered what happened last time and wasn't going to mistake Luke for a burglar again.  
  
"Luke, get your ass down here and explain to me what you've done to my back door!" Lorelai yelled up the stairs. She hadn't even looked at the back door, but as soon as she did, she saw that it had been forced open by something big and strong – Luke. 

"How'd you know I was in here?" Luke queried as he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Planning on giving me a heart attack, were you?" Lorelai joked.

"I was just checking your locks. The back door one was cheap and it needs replacing."  
  
"Yeah, _now _it does, but I'd say about ten minutes ago it was fine and dandy, holding our back door securely shut until someone came along and rammed it open!" Lorelai smiled a very sarcastic smile and sat down at the table, passing Luke a bottle of water she had subconsciously taken from the fridge for him.   
  
Luke sat down across from Lorelai and opened his water. "Thanks" he said before taking a sip. 

Lorelai felt unbelievably guilty as she debated with herself whether or not to tell Luke about Rachel. She knew he deserved to know that his girlfriend was leaving him, but he would know in a few hours anyway, what would be the harm? So Lorelai decided to let it go. She didn't feel like being the bearer of bad news right now.

*****

*****

If you got all confused with the whole tuna thing, it's just that in the original episode, Rachel said she made tuna for Luke… Same goes for the whole cow reference in chapter 1. If something seems to come way outta left field like that again, just assume it's either in the original script or my highly active imagination is in overdrive.

Keep reviewing, it makes me smile! =c)

Coming up… Rachel leaves, but her parting words are a little different this time (what could they be?) and Lorelai is determined to find out why she left (Remember – this time around there will be no Max to friggin interrupt when Luke is about to tell Lorelai that he's head over heels, truly, madly, deeply, fairytale ending, crazy in love with her (okay, smack me over the head now, I just quoted Savage Garden *shudders*). I think you get my drift…


	3. Four broken hearts and a forgotten toolb

Before anything more is said, I have to say thank you to Len for totally making my day. Your review was awesome! And another thing… actually, I'll say it at the end of this chapter cos I don't want to give anything away. Enjoy!!

-----

CHAPTER 3: Four broken hearts and a forgotten toolbox…

As soon as Luke had left, Lorelai noticed that Bert was still sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Then she remembered what had happened last time… when Luke had come to pick Bert up… and Max had been there. He'd asked him to marry her and the next day she'd said yes. She had to call him and sort everything out before she lead him on again. She didn't love him and she should tell him now rather than later on. Somewhat reluctantly she picked up the phone and dialled his number, surprised that she still remembered it off by heart.

"Hello?" Max answered the phone after only a few rings. Was he expecting her to call? She couldn't really remember very clearly what had happened last time around and began to panic.

"Hi, ah, Max, it's Lorelai. How's it going?" She tried her hardest to sound calm but she was far from calm. 

"Lorelai, I was wondering when you'd call." Lorelai tried her hardest to remember what had happened last time. "Are you feeling okay? Did you still want to go to the town meeting?"

Without meaning to say it out loud, Lorelai suddenly cried "Ah HUH!" So _that's_ why he'd been expecting her call. They were going to go to the town meeting together and then Luke was going go home to find out that Rachel was leaving him and the following night, Max would ask Lorelai to marry him. 

"Oh, sorry… um, yeah, about that…" Lorelai trailed off. Trying to break up with someone was never easy, but doing it because you knew it was for their own good in the long run without letting them know that you _knew_ was pretty challenging. "I'm sorry, Max, but I don't think it's a good idea."

  
"What? You've been talking about these town meetings for months. I want to see one for myself." Max had quite obviously missed the point. 

"No, Max. I mean _us_. I don't think _we're _a good idea." She was close to crying even though she knew it was for the best.

"What? Lorelai, I don't understand." Max had obviously gotten the point this time.

"I can't explain it, but… it's just not going to work out. I'm so sorry. Please, don't call and try to figure this out, it's just not going to work. I'm so sorry," she almost whispered as she hung up the phone. 

Even though she knew in her heart of hearts it was for the best, Lorelai felt a tiny piece of her heart crumble. 

*******

Luke walked back to the diner after a fairly uneventful town meeting. Lorelai hadn't been there to criticise every little thing Taylor did, so the meeting was nowhere near as amusing as it usually was. As Luke entered the diner, causing the bell above the door to ring, he noticed Rachel standing behind the counter.

"Hey. You didn't miss much. The troubadours argued. Taylor hit a tiny wooden hammer against a desk." Luke gestured with his arms as he explained the goings on of the meeting. "Some festival is planned for next weekend… the usual boring small town stuff…" he trailed off as Rachel came out from behind the counter with two suitcases. 

"Oh," was all he could say.

"Yeah." There was an awkward pause before Luke replied "are you gonna tell me why? Oh, no, sorry, I'm sure it's the same excuse as last time. Gotta travel, can't spread roots, must flee from Luke…" Luke gestured madly with his arms, trying to hide his pain.

"That's not it, Luke and deep down you know it. It wasn't working," Rachel paused, looking down, trying not to cry. "You don't love me, Luke. We both know that."

Luke didn't know what to say. She was right, so what could he say?

"Goodbye Luke." Rachel kissed his cheek, picked up her bags and was about to go out the door when she suddenly turned and said "She loves you too, y'know."

For a second Luke looked genuinely puzzled, but then he began slowly shaking his head. Before he could say anything, Rachel interrupted.

"Tell her, okay? If not for you, and for her, do it for me." And with that, she opened the door and left Luke alone in the diner with his thoughts.

*******

The following night, after a long winded conversation with Rory about how much of a cow Paris was, Lorelai heard a knock at the door. She froze – she assumed it would be Max and the horrible proposal would happen all over again, so she sent Rory to open the door. 

"Hey, Luke, come on in," Rory said, smiling. 

"Thanks." Luke looked confused and quite uncomfortable, and for the life of her, Lorelai couldn't figure out why he was looking this way. And then she remembered Rachel. 

"Luke, I'm so sorry!" Forgetting that she shouldn't already know what had happened, Lorelai approached Luke and began to subconsciously rub his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

"What? Lorelai, I just came to pick up my tools. But…" Luke looked far more confused than before, but he shook it off, assuming that Patty or Babette had seen Rachel leave the previous night. He cleared his throat and said in a gruff, slightly annoyed voice, "I take it you heard."

"Ah, yeah…" Lorelai stammered. "Yeah, y'know, Patty…" she lied. She was still rubbing his arm.

"Yeah, well… I guess I'll just get my tools," Luke tried desperately to change the subject.

Rory was coming back into the room when Lorelai replied "Alright. Look after Bert for us, okay?" 

Luke and Rory both looked very confused and said simultaneously "Bert?"

"Yeah. Me and Rory called it Bert and said goodnight to it and everything." She smiled widely, amused by Luke's look of slight disgust. But then she noticed that Rory was looking very confused.

"I mean _I_ called it Bert. I did. All me. Yup, crazy ol' Lorelai all on her own…" she tried desperately to close her mouth, but it all just kept coming. "They're coming to take me away hehe…" she sung under her breath.

"Okay, Mom, you've now reached a new level of crazy. I think I'll leave you to handle her, Luke…" Rory smiled and went back to her room. 

"Well. I'd better get going…" Luke sighed. He obviously had something on his mind.

"Are you sure? Come on, I'll make you… something… water? Tea? I think that's about as far as my talents go. I make a mean margarita, but I don't picture that as really being your thing." Lorelai smiled as she visualised Luke joining a conga line with a fruit basket on his head and a margarita in his hand.

Luke's head was screaming at him to get out of the Gilmore house before he did something crazy, but before his head could intervene, he noticed his mouth opening and saying "water would be great."

Lorelai smiled at him as she gestured towards the couch. "Sit sit, I'll go get it. It might take me a while to prepare, but I'll be back as soon as I can."

Luke smiled at her, silently thanking her for keeping the conversation light when he knew that in a few minutes it would take a serious turn into a deep and meaningful discussion – something he liked to avoid at all costs.

When Lorelai returned, carrying two bottles of water, Luke was sitting on the sofa with his hands clasped tightly together and resting in his lap.

"Here you go," Lorelai said, passing the bottle to Luke.

"Thanks." Luke opened the bottle and took a sip. He then breathed in deeply before sighing. He then looked down at his hands and said quietly "She's not coming back."

Lorelai's heart broke, seeing Luke so downtrodden. She placed her hand on his forearm and said quietly "I'm so sorry, Luke."  
  
Luke scoffed and shook his head "I don't know why I'm so shocked. This _is _Rachel we're talking about." He looked back down at his hands. 

Lorelai couldn't help herself. She'd wanted to ask him for nearly a year why Rachel had left, but been too afraid to hurt him. "What happened? Why did she leave?"

Without thinking, Luke looked up at her and looked her straight in the eye. He kept looking at her for only a second before quickly looking away. "It was nothing. Just normal Rachel behaviour. She can't stay in the one place for more than a couple of months before she makes up some lame reason to leave."

Lorelai, whose hand was still resting on Luke's arm, began to subconsciously rub his arm supportively. She smiled weakly at him and he returned the smile. They sat there for a few seconds in comfortable silence before Lorelai suddenly said "But that can't have been the _only_ reason. I mean, you're such a great guy, why on earth would she…" Then, without warning, Lorelai remembered the last conversation she'd had with Rachel. Where Rachel had asked Lorelai if she liked Luke… and Lorelai hadn't denied it. _That's_ why she left!

While Lorelai was figuring all this out in her head, Luke was thinking about what Lorelai had just said. She'd called him a _great guy_. Maybe what Rachel had said wasn't so ridiculous after all… but that thought didn't stay with Luke long. After being in love with Lorelai for so long, Luke had become so used to convincing himself that she would never feel the same way that it'd become something of a reflex. At the faintest glimmer of something more than platonic friendship from Lorelai, Luke would automatically tell himself to stop being such an ass.

When they both had finished mentally abusing themselves, they simultaneously realised that Lorelai's hand was still resting on Luke's arm. At exactly the same time, they pulled away – Lorelai running her hand through her hair and Luke returning his hands to their previous home on his lap. The comfortable silence had suddenly become very _uncomfortable_, so Luke cleared his throat and pretended that he suddenly had to be somewhere else. 

"Yeah, well, I'd better get going. Thanks for the water."

Luke stood up, soon followed by Loreali who was still trying to figure out some witty remark to ease the tension. "It was my pleasure. Water _is _my speciality after all!" As Luke walked towards the front door, Lorelai widened her eyes, thinking to herself _That's the best you could come up with? What's happened to you, Lorelai!?_

"And thanks for listening. It was a bit strange for me to be the one talking and for you to be listening, but I think we'll both survive!" Luke gestured with his hands as he spoke and then smiled genuinely at her. Lorelai smiled back before reassuring him "It'll be okay, Luke. I promise." They exchanged caring glances before he opened the front door and left her standing there, thoroughly confused, with Bert at her feet.

*****

*****

And again, he leaves Bert behind! Len, what I was going to say is _Are you psychic?_ Either that or I'm completely predictable! I just thought that seeing as Lorelai's conversation with Rachel had been different, everything would have changed a little and Rachel's parting words to Luke would also be altered a bit. Anyway, I won't blabber on anymore than I need to. BUT I need to tell you that I won't be updating quite as frequently anymore. I'd already written pretty much up to here before even posting the first chapter, so now I actually have to take the time to write some new material. Bear with me, please! And if you have any suggestions, do suggest them! I'll try my hardest to fit them into the next few chapters. I have an idea where this is going, but any input would be wonderful! 


	4. Like Mother Like Daughter

Sorry it took so long and sorry it's so short… I could say school's been really busy but I'm not at school anymore… and I could say that work's been keeping me away from doing this, but to be honest, the real reason I haven't written anything in a while is that we just got a DVD player and DAMN it's hard to drag yourself away from those things… I sat for at least an hour going through the extra's on the "Almost Famous" DVD. If you haven't done the same – do! Go rent the DVD now! It's really great! Anyway, time for me to shut up and chapter 4 to begin…

------

CHAPTER 4: Like mother like daughter…

When Lorelai had told Rory about Max, Rory's first reaction was to tell her mother that it was just the traditional Gilmore lack of commitment skills that they shared, but soon realised that it was something much more. All of a sudden, Lorelai seemed to have gone from someone who wasn't quite in love, to someone who was across the bridge, up the road and in the next country from love… The sudden change had Rory concerned, so she asked Lorelai what was going on.

"Mom, what happened? I mean, I'm totally behind you on this, but… I mean… why?"

Lorelai looked down at her feet and took a deep breath before replying. "Ror… it's just really really hard to explain okay?" Lorelai wasn't sure whether or not to tell Rory about _everything_. She didn't know how she'd take it. Rory was a smart kid and regardless of how much she loved and trusted her mother, telling her that she'd come from the future was a bit of a leap. So Lorelai decided not to tell Rory. And she promised herself that she would not interfere with everything going on with Rory. The day after Sookie's wedding Rory had told her mom that she'd kissed Jess and no matter how much Lorelai disliked Jess, she could tell that Rory really liked him. Really _really_ liked him. But seeing as Jess was not in the picture just yet, and Rory still seemed to be head over heels for Dean, she decided that she wouldn't interfere. 

Rory looked at her mom with concern flooding her face. "I thought you loved him, mom."

Lorelai looked up from where she had been staring, and looked Rory straight in the eye. "No, sweetie," she shook her head sadly "No matter how much I'd like for that to be true, it just wasn't there… and I just couldn't put Max through the pain of having me reject him again." Without thinking, she'd let the last part slip – breaking Max's heart _again_?

Rory looked at her mother quizzically for a second, but let it slide. Lorelai was pretty distressed so Rory decided to try and change the subject. "Okay, movie night!"

Lorelai's face lit up and she hugged Rory fiercely. "Thanks" she whispered into Rory's hair.

*****

The following day, Rory walked into the diner at a few minutes past seven. Lorelai was sitting at the counter, sipping happily on her coffee. As Rory approached her mother, Lorelai could see she was trying to hide her smile.

"Good news?" Lorelai asked, already knowing the answer.

"Very good," Rory smiled broadly as she sat down next to Lorelai. Luke offered her a cup of coffee, but Rory politely refused. "No thanks. Big hole, through roof, very bad."

  
Lorelai smiled to herself. Rory really was her mother's daughter. "So…?" 

"I said it. To Dean," Rory's smile broadened as she said "We're back together."   
  


The two girls hugged as Luke watched on, loving that he was able to be there to see two of his favourite people so happy. 

"So, tell me all about it!"

Rory took a deep breath and began to tell her story, Luke and Lorelai listening intently. They glanced at each other and shared a warm smile before Luke picked up the coffee pot and walked over to another customer and refilled their mug, all the while listening to Rory's story. 

*****

*****

Okay, cruddy place to end it, but it was supposed to be like the end of the episode, so… and I know it's really short but it's been ages since I've posted so I thought I'd better do it quickly before you guys started to think I'd given up… I'm not sure whether or not to completely ignore what happened in the next episode – it was all pretty much about the wedding… and I think I'll give up on going by episode, because everything would be completely out of whack, so… I dunno. Review and tell me what you think I should do!


	5. Realisations and revelations

Okay, to make up for my Mini Me of a chapter last time, I've stayed up til 11 writing a new chapter. Two postings in one day is quite an achievement for me. And although 11 may not sound late, it is to me when I have to go to work tomorrow and work from 9 til 5 for the next five days. I hate Mondays. And I hate it when it's 11pm on Sunday and I know that as soon as I fall asleep, my next thoughts will be "No! It can't be 6:30 already!"

Enough with my rant. I would just like you all to appreciate this chapter. And to show your appreciation, I'd just _love_ a couple of reviews, even if they are of Mini-Me-esque size. Tah muchly and enjoy!

-------

  
CHAPTER 5: Realisations and revelations.

After a few weeks, Lorelai discovered that everything had changed. Not in a huge Michael-Jackson-plastic-surgery kind of way, but she no longer relived conversations and the strange sense of déjà vu had pretty much disappeared. But some things, she wanted to relive. She and Rory still went to Harvard and it was only as they were driving back into Stars Hollow that she realised something very important would be missing from her life from now on….

"The chuppah!" she gasped as parked the car across the street from Luke's. 

"What? Mom, you've got to stop having these random little outbursts. It's way too Jan Brady."

"Sorry, hon. I just remembered something…" Lorelai was interrupted by Lane.

"Rory!" she yelled, running towards them as they climbed out of the Jeep.

"Oh my God, Lane!" 

"Hey, sweetie. Great to see you home. I'll leave you to catch up. If you need me, I'll be in Luke's." Lorelai already knew all of Lane's news so decided to leave the conversation early and visit Luke. She was still very bummed about the realisation that the chuppah was no longer in existence when she entered Luke's diner that when she approached the counter, she noticed he was looking at her very sympathetically.

"Hey," he said simply, placing a very large, blue mug in front of her and filling it to the brim with coffee. 

Lorelai smiled at his gesture and took the mug into her hands, blowing lightly on the hot coffee before taking a long sip. "No comments on the dangers of caffeine consumption? I should come in here looking grumpy more often!"

Rolling his eyes, Luke grouched under his breath "Yeah, well, don't get used to it," as he headed off to serve the last few customers in***

Lorelai sat quietly at the counter, enjoying her coffee, waiting for Luke to return. When he did, he began wiping down the counter aimlessly.

"So, where did you guys go?"

"Well, we drove around a little, _avoided_ this B&B I've been to… _before_… We ended up staying at this fancy little place just out of Boston. It was kind of like the Inn but a bit more… I don't know… fancy…" she laughed a little and then looked up at Luke, smiling, as she said "and then took a tour of Harvard." 

"Harvard? Geez, Rory woulda loved that!"

  
"Oh, Luke, you should've seen her. She totally fit. She was in her element! All those beautiful, old buildings and the dorms and the library! I swear, that thing was as big as this entire town!"

Luke chuckled a little, watching Lorelai so excited about seeing Rory so excited. "I'm glad you guys had fun."

"Yeah, me too." Lorelai lifted her mug up to her lips and took another long sip, this time emptying it of its contents. She placed the mug back down on the counter and raising her eyebrows, pointed to it and coughed, looking anywhere but directly at Luke. 

"Yeah, real subtle," he rolled his eyes again and refilled her mug.

  
Lorelai's face lit up as she smiled widely. "Thanks. But I missed this place so much. And I missed your coffee. I swear there is nothing like it anywhere else… within Massachusetts or Connecticut!"

Luke continued to wipe down the counter as he smiled at her. "Gee, thanks."

"Still, two outta fifty states ain't bad! And just think, I haven't even ventured to Maine yet, so…" she nodded to herself "as soon as that Bad Boy's conquered, you've… I've… I've forgotten what I was talking about…" 

They both laughed and found themselves smiling at each other for a few seconds before Luke averted his glance and began staring at the counter, while still rubbing down the same spot he'd been working on for the last ten minutes. 

Lorelai then gasped to herself for the second time that night. "Jess!" she half whispered. 

"What?" Luke looked at Lorelai suspiciously. 

Luke narrowed her eyes at him and replied "Have you talked to your sister recently?"

Luke looked suspiciously at Lorelai for a few seconds. "How do you know about Jess?"

"Oh, who? No, I was thinking about Tess… this woman at the place we stayed and… and then I just, y'know, thought about your sister cos… her name's Liz, right? And Liz and Tess just sound real similar and, well, you know how my mind works. Well, no, you don't cos _nobody _understands how my mind works, even me, so…." 

Luke looked quizzically at Lorelai, thinking she had finally lost the plot. "Uh, okay… but there was something I was meaning to ask you about. My sister's kid might be coming to stay with me and I was thinkin' you might be able to…" Luke gestured aimlessly with his arms, "give me some kinda parental advice or somethin'…"

Lorelai had sort of forgotten about Jess. Well, not _forgotten_, but she'd been subconsciously hoping that somehow he wouldn't end up coming to stay with Luke, but because of her earlier promise to herself _not_ to interfere with Rory's life, she knew she couldn't convince Luke to say no to letting Jess come and stay. And besides, however much she disliked Jess, she knew that Luke loved him deep down. Or _would _love him… all this future and past tense stuff was beginning to get on her nerves.

  
"Sure," she smiled. "If ever you need _anything_, you know where to find me." She spun around in her chair and pointed to the table near the coat rack. "Usually, right over there."

Luke smirked again and without really thinking, refilled her mug. 

"But, there is one condition." He eyed her suspiciously before replying impatiently "What is it, Lorelai?"

She tried to act coy when she said "Well, I've been thinking about my future and everything and, well… I've decided it's time me and Sookie opened our own Inn, so… just, if I'm giving out parental advice, I'm gonna want some business advice in return!"

Luke smiled slightly and replied "If you think the time is right!"

"Oh, it is. And before you say anything, I'm Wonder Woman and can hack anything, so no need to ask."

  
"I know you are. No need to remind me."

Lorelai was taken aback at how genuine his compliment was and smiled at him. "Thanks, Luke." She stood up, picked her purse up off the counter and placed a few bills on the counter to pay for her coffee. She then walked around the counter and hugged Luke tightly, taking him by complete surprise. "Thanks," she whispered into his ear before stepping back and, smiling at him thankfully, left the diner. 

After crossing the street, Lorelai saw Lane and Rory still standing where she'd left them, chatting excitedly. "Why don't you two hang together for a while," Lorelai suggested as she approached the two. "I've had Rory to myself for a few days now and, to be honest, I'm sick of the sight of her so if you would be so kind as to take her off my hands for a few hours, Lane, I'd be eternally grateful!" 

"Thanks, Mom." Rory said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be back by… later." And the two girls walked away, still chatting madly. 

Lorelai took out her cell phone and dialled Sookie's number. She knew exactly what Sookie's reaction was going to be when she heard Lorelai's news. This was one case of déjà vu she didn't mind having.

  
*****

*****

Okay, so I skipped a few episodes, but they were all about weddings and veils and we all know what happened in Harvard so I skipped the majority of that episode too… but next up, we have "Nick & Nora/ Sid & Nancy", so anyone who's interested in how Lorelai will deal with Jess this time, you'd better hold onto your seats cos he's just around the corner… [And I apologise for the whole 'seats' thing just there… gimme a break, it's almost Monday! Who can come up with witty comments at 11pm on a Sunday?]


	6. A Crash Course in Subtlety

Okay, I only realised after I'd posted the last chapter that Luke didn't find out about Jess coming until "Nick & Nora…" but let's just say that because Lorelai and Rory didn't stay at the "Cheshire Cat", some other guy who was going to go to New York ended up getting their room and then he was supposed to catch a certain taxi in New York, but because he was at the B&B, someone else ended up on that cab and the cab got caught in traffic and the person who caught the cab was meant to meet Jess, but because she was caught in traffic, he ended up waiting in the café the were meant to meet in for a few hours, ingrossed in a book and by the time he got home, it was in the early hours of the morning, and his mom went nuts on him and called Luke… so there you have it… Let's just say it's like "Run Lola Run" where every little incident can cause catastrophic events to occur and Liz called Luke early… okay, now that I've inhaled, let's get on with the rest of the story…

-------

CHAPTER 6: 

"Is he here yet?" Lorelai bounced up and down on the spot, annoying the hell out of Luke.

  
"No." 

Lorelai stopped bouncing and looked around innocently for a few seconds before repeating "Is he here yet?" 

"Lorelai, please, shut up." Luke was surprisingly calm on the outside, but inside he was a mess. Lorelai had insisted on coming with him to meet Jess off the bus – why, he still couldn't figure out, but it was nice to have her there to distract him. Or at least, he'd agreed to have her tag along at first because he thought she'd be a nice distraction, but now she was just being a pain in the ass.

Lorelai was tempted to ask Luke for the eighth time that morning whether Jess had arrived, but decided that she'd better stop driving Luke crazy before he threw her in front of a passing car. She'd made up some completely ridiculous reason for coming with Luke to meet Jess, but her real reason was so that she could tell Jess a thing or two before he had the chance to cause Luke any grief. When Luke had told Lorelai that Jess was coming, she was a little annoyed at first. She'd hoped that for some weird cosmic reason, Jess wouldn't end up coming to Stars Hollow, but due to her prior agreement with herself not to mess with Rory's life, she knew that she couldn't purposely do anything to stop him from coming. And it wasn't just Rory. Lorelai knew that deep down, Luke loved Jess… or _would _love him, and she couldn't take that away from him. 

She was about to risk her life and ask Luke if Jess had arrived when a large bus with a sign stuck to the window reading "Stars Hollow" pulled up in front of them. A few people climbed off the bus that Lorelai recognised before Jess made his entrance. Wearing his "I hate the world" look, he glanced at Luke, then shifted his gaze to Lorelai before looking back to Luke. 

  
"Jess," Luke greeted his nephew. 

  
"Luke," Jess replied curtly. 

"Plaid," Lorelai stated matter-of-factly. When Luke and Jess both looked at her as if she were crazy, she shook her head quickly, blinked, and said "Oh, sorry, I thought we were playing a word association game." She smiled and extended her hand to Jess "Hi, I'm Lorelai, a friend of Luke's." 

Jess looked away and ignored Lorelai's outstretched hand. "Great." 

"Luke, do you mind if I have a word to Jess real quick. I just wanted to let him in on the latest town gossip before you had the chance to grab the scoop." Luke raised his eyebrows in a questioning look and said "Ah, Okay."

Jess was now somewhat concerned for his safety. He certainly hadn't expected that when he left all the nut jobs behind in New York, he'd find their leader living in Stars Hollow.

"Jess," Lorelai forced a smile to appear on her face. "Jess, Jess, Jess." She was trying to remember what she'd practiced telling him. She'd gone over it in her head a few times, trying to get her point across without allowing him to think she was a nutter who thought she could see into the future. When they were out of earshot of Luke, Lorelai began her speech. 

"Look, here's the thing. This is a very small town. A very, _very_ small town. And Luke over there – he may not like to believe it, but everyone in this town loves him. And I have a little girl. She's your age and she's wonderful. Everyone loves her too. And I promise you, if you do anything – and I mean _anything_ that causes either of them _any _kind of pain or sadness or cause them any grief whatsoever – I _promise _you that this entire town will come after you. And it may not look like it, but I can be a very vindictive woman and if you hurt the two most important people in my life in any way, I will personally make your life a living hell. You will not vandalise, you will pull no pranks, and you _will _attend school regularly. You will make Luke proud of you and make me like you so that if one day something happens between you and Rory, I won't have to tell my little girl that I really don't like the guy she's fallen for, okay?" 

Jess looked puzzled and although he didn't let it show, he was actually quite impressed by how passionate her speech was. He shrugged nonchalantly and replied "Whatever". He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at his feet.

"I'm serious Jess. I really want to like you. I _really _do, so please, just try to be a good kid. I know this town is tiny and can be boring at times, but just try to make it work okay? You may one day be glad that you made the effort."

And with that, Lorelai waved goodbye to Luke then directed a meaningful look towards Jess before walking home. 

*****

Later that day, Lorelai entered Luke's and smiled as she heard the familiar ring of the bell jingling above her head. She approached the counter and sat directly in front of Luke.

"So…?" she stated, looking up at him expectantly. 

"So… what?" 

"So, how's Jess fitting in?"

"Ah, he's doin okay. I mean, he hasn't met anyone except you yet and has been upstairs since we got here. Nothing to say, really."

"Okay, just thought I'd ask…" Lorelai gazed around the room before returning her attention to Luke. She cleared her throat. 

"What?" he asked without looking up.

She cough and said "Coffee" while looking over her shoulder at nothing in particular. 

"You really need to work on your subtlety, you know," Luke grumbled as he reached for the coffee pot. 

"Ah, you know you love me!" Lorelia smiled widely up at him as he poured her coffee. His gaze was fixed on the coffee mug, but she watched his reaction intently. To her surprise, he smiled slightly before looking up and sarcastically mumbling "sure" while rolling his eyes at her. 

Before she even had time to make another narky comment, there was a loud rumble coming from behind Luke. Jess emerged, book in hand, and headed for the door.

"Hey Jess - where ya goin?" Luke asked, trying to sound casual. 

Jess stopped in the middle of the diner and turned to face Luke and Lorelai, who were both looking at him waiting for his answer. "Out" was his only reply before he turned around and continued his journey towards the door. 

"Ah, Jess?" Lorelai smiled sweetly. "Out where?" 

Jess stopped and this time didn't turn around straight away. He inhaled deeply and then turned to face Lorelai once more. Luke just watched on in silence.

"I dunno. To look around a bit, I guess…"

"When will you be back?" she retorted, a sweet-as-honey smile still planted firmly on her lips.

"Ah, later."

"Later when?" 

Jess stared straight at her and was about to say something offensive, but then he realised that he wasn't going to win with this woman. Shrugging his shoulders he mumbled "Eight, I guess" and then turned and left the diner before she could ask him any more questions. 

Lorelai turned back to Luke and was surprised to see him looking at her with a look of admiration painted across his face. "That's the most that kid's said since gettin' here."

"Well," she sighed, nonchalantly, "I've had a bit of practice." 

Luke smiled at her and refilled her mug without saying a word. 

******

******

  
Sorry it's short but I wanted to get this out there and remind you all that I'm still alive and haven't given up or anything.

After my little "Run Lola Run" comment up at the beginning, I just had to mention how much I LOVE that movie and how great "Amilie" is as well. I'm not the world's biggest fan of foreign films, but those two are awesome. If you haven't seen them – do! RIGHT NOW!!! Seriously great movies! And I'm _SO SO SO SO SO _sorry that I haven't updated this sooner. I've been really busy with work and I'm going to "Homebake" next weekend so this probably won't be updated again for at least a week. But never fear – I will be completely free by next Monday and I can write my little fingers off between then and Christmas, so hopefully I'll be able to get back into your good books! Sorry again… and see "Amilie"!!!

P.S. Remember to review again and again – give me all the feedback you feel is necessary. Tell me it's hopeless if you want, I just want to know what you think. And I _will_ incorporate all ides given to me as long as they don't clash with the ideas I already have. Thanks again to all of you who have already reviewed. You are all awesome!


	7. Potatoes and Proof

Firstly, on a personal note, I'd like to pass on my best wishes to anyone in Canberra, Australia, or anywhere in the surrounding areas, who has been effected by the recent bushfires. I, for one, have been terrified over the past couple of days, and the fires have been nowhere near me **knocks on wood**. 

Okay, now to stuff about the story… I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update this. The reason it's taken so long is that it's just been a really really hard chapter to tackle, but I think I've done pretty well. I'd written a draft for this chapter a week ago, but it was really bad so I asked Len for some advice and I definitely got it! THANK YOU SO MUCH! You've totally made this chapter! So this is dedicated to Len – the legend! Hope you all enjoy it. 

*****

*****

CHAPTER 7: Potatoes and Proof

Sookie was screaming around Lorelai's kitchen like a woman on a mission. Lorelai had again asked Luke and Jess around for a "Welcome To Stars Hollow" dinner and they would be arriving any second. Sookie was, as always, stressing. 

"Have you seen the potatoes?" she asked Jackson with panic in her voice.

Jackson began to respond before Sookie cut him off. "Potatoes?" her voice filling with tension, she stopped and addressed the room. "Potatoes? Has anyone seen the potatoes?"

Rory called from her room that she hadn't seen the potatoes recently, and Lorelai, who was standing by the fridge watching the whole ordeal unfold, pointed to Sookie's hands and said quietly "Honey, you're holding them."

Looking down, Sookie let out a very high-pitched giggle before returning to the bench and her cutting board.

Lorelai walked past Jackson and whispered "You know, we really shouldn't let her near knives."

Suddenly, Sookie spun round and, staring at Lorelai and Jackson with wide eyes and a knife in her hand, gasped: "What if he doesn't like pot roast?"

Lorelai and Jackson simultaneously rolled their eyes. "Well," began Jackson, "then they can have the chicken wings, the mashed potatoes," he raised his eyebrows to add emphasis before continuing "the four different kinds of salad that you're making in _addition_ to the pot roast."

Lorelai almost laughed out loud. Despite all the differences that had occurred in the last few weeks, Jackson had still said pretty much word for word what he'd said the first time around. 

_Maybe_, thought Lorelai, _the butterfly effect is all a load of crap and nothing's changed_. Before she had a chance to think about it any further, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" she hollered as she approached the door. 

Luke and Jess were standing very uncomfortably on the other side of the door, waiting for it to open. Jess looked around, as if searching for somewhere – _anywhere_ – else to go, and Luke kept looking at him with a look that said "don't you _dare_".

In her usual extravagant manor, Lorelai opened the door and gestured for the two men to come inside. "Hey, come in, come in. You're just in time to see Sookie have a melt down. I've only seen it once or twice myself, so count yourselves lucky, my friends!"

Luke smiled uncomfortably and Jess huffed slightly and said under his breath "yeah, _real_ lucky."

Lorelai pretended as if she hadn't heard him and gestured for them to follow her into the kitchen. She leant against the counter and watched the others for a second before snapping out of the little trance she'd somehow gotten into. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I forgot, you guys don't know each other yet." _Oops, _she thought. _That could've been interpreted a couple of ways!_ "Jackson, Sookie, I'd like you to meet Jess. Jess, this is Jackson and Sookie… obviously!" 

Jess, who was intent on staring at the floor, lifted his gaze and nodded towards the two crazy townspeople in front of him. "Hi," he grunted before returning his eyes to the floor.

"Hi Jess. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Sookie," Sookie giggled, "but I guess you already knew that. I mean, I don't look like I could be called Jackson, now, do I?" Sookie found her own joke hilarious and she started giggling uncontrollably. 

"Right, well, we'll leave Nutty Nora here to tend to her potatoes," Lorelai smiled and pointed to the living room. "How bout we go in here?" Lorelai and Luke headed into the living room, but Jess, who was about to follow stopped when he noticed Rory sitting in her room.

"Hey," he said, trying to get her attention. 

Rory turned around in her chair and smiled. "Hey, I'm Rory. I'm guessing you're Jess." She smiled broadly as he leaned against the door frame. 

"Yeah, that'd be me." Jess walked slowly into Rory's room and she tensed a little. "Wow," he said, gesturing to the bookshelf, "big reader, hey?"

"Yeah," Rory smiled, "I read a lot. A _lot_, actually. How 'bout you. Do you read?"

"Ah, yeah, it's a little trick they taught me when I was about five," he noticed Rory roll her eyes. "But yeah, I like to read a bit."

While Rory and Jess started to get to know each other, Lorelai and Luke were in the living room. 

  
"So," Lorelai started, "How's Jess liking his bed?"

"He doesn't say much about it, but I guess it's okay. I still don't understand why you were so damn insistent that I buy it."

Lorelai smiled, restraining the urge to laugh. "I have my reasons." She could hear Sookie and Jackson 'oohing' and 'aahing' over some lemons in the kitchen and decided that it was, again, a good time to intervene. 

"Sookie! Step away from the lemon!" she called. 

  
Sookie stuck her head in the room and, looking very puzzled, asked "how did you know I was eating a lemon?"

_Crap_. Lorelai's eyes widened every so slightly. "Um, is dinner ready yet?" 

Sookie smiled. "Yeah, coming right up," she replied before bouncing back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Lorelai, Luke, Sookie, Jackson and Rory were all gathered around the table, mountains of food spread before them. 

"Hey Rory," Luke started, "where's Jess?"

Lorelai's eyes widened. 

"Um, I think he's getting a soda," Rory replied.

Practically throwing down the plate she was holding, Lorelai almost shouted "I'll get him" before nearly running into the kitchen. Jess was nowhere to be seen.

"You gotta be kidding me," she said under her breath as she walked out the back door and onto the porch just in time to see Jess open a beer. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

Jess, somewhat surprised to be caught but not really caring what this small town loony thought of him, looked up at Lorelai with contempt before scoffing "Climbing Everest, what does it look like."

Lorelai swiftly took the bottle from Jess. "Funny, funny guy. Next question – did you not hear my little rant the other day or did what I said have a bad reaction to your hair gel and go running for the hills?"

"Oh," he said sarcastically, "the one about how I'm supposed to fall madly in love with your daughter, and how I'd better make your darling Lukey-Pooky proud or else you'll kick my ass? Yeah, I heard that one, I just chose to forget it."

Jess glared at Lorelai briefly before he turned and started to walk away.

  
"Where do you think you're going?" Lorelai was furious that Jess had completely ignored what she had said to him on his arrival.

  
"Away from you," he called over his shoulder, not bothering to turn and face her.

"That little punk!" Lorelai hissed under her breath as she went back inside.

As Lorelai entered the living room, Luke asked "Where's Jess?"

Realising that Luke had to put up with Jess' crap all over again, Lorelai suddenly felt very sad and guilty that she was putting him through it all again. "He left, Luke. I'm sorry. I'm sure he'll be okay, but he didn't wanna hang around."

Luke looked down, half angry, half upset and then stood up slowly. "Excuse me. Thanks for everything guys, but I'd better go find him." He was on his way out when he noticed Bert sitting near the front door. He picked up his toolbox and left quietly. No one at the table said a word.

"Sookie," Lorelai broke the silence. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

For a second Sookie looked utterly confused, but then realised that Lorelai really needed to talk. "Sure. Excuse me," she said as she rose from the table. 

  
"So, what's up?" Sookie said as she and Lorelai entered the latter's bedroom. Lorelai closed the door behind her and began to pace up and down. Sookie looked at her friend intently and noticed she was looking very serious. "Hey, honey, what's with the frown?"

"Eh, everything…" Lorelai had been perfectly happy to keep her whole 'Back to the Future' thing to herself until five minutes ago. Until she realised that Jess was still going to be a right royal pain in the ass and that things might just end up going as they had the last time and that she was reliving all this for nothing. 

"You know, I read somewhere that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile!" 

"Yeah, well then you burn more calories frowning…" Lorelai decided to sit down and landed on her bed with a thud before bouncing up and down ever so slightly.

"Lorelai, are you okay? You seem kinda stressed." Sitting down next to her, Sookie studied Lorelai's face with great concern. 

"You have no idea, Sookie." Lorelai looked at her friend warily before continuing. "Sookie, if I tell you something, you promise not to have me committed?"

Sookie laughed and slapped Lorelai playfully on the arm. "Of course not, silly," she giggled. Then she realised that Lorelai wasn't trying to be silly. She stared at Lorelai with deep concern and gave her a look that told her to go on.

"Well… the thing is…" Lorelai struggled with how to tell her friend what she desperately needed to say. "You're the only person I can tell this to, Sook. I need you to believe me, okay? I really just need someone to talk to about this, and telling Rory's just not an option…" 

"Honey, you can tell me anything, you know that," Sookie replied gently.

Lorelai searched for the right way to start. "Well… the thing is… okay, I know I sound like a crazy person, but…" Lorelai exhaled quickly and said very quickly "I've done all this before. I know it sounds all very Marty McFly, but I've been here before and know what's gonna happen… to a point, anyway. To June 23rd next year, actually…"

Sookie, eyebrows raised, tried to look as if she believed Lorelai, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't help thinking _she's finally lost the plot…_

"I know I sound crazy, Sookie, but I can prove it… ask me something… anything about what's gonna happen!"

"Alright…" Sookie tried to make the conversation light. "Are there flying cars in the future?"

Lorelai sighed pensively and Sookie, who had been smiling just a second ago, grew suddenly grim. Despite how crazy Lorelai sounded, Sookie was going to have to go along with this or risk really hurting her best friend. 

"Um… okay… what happens with me and Jackson this year?"

Lorelai smiled widely and Sookie's eyes widened. "What? What? Why are you smiling like that?"

"I don't know if I should tell you… it won't be a surprise… I might screw it up for you!" 

  
"Nooo," Sookie smiled and smacked Lorelai's arm playfully, "Tell me!"

"Well, if things turn out like they did _last_ time, you're gonna get married next May." 

Sookie's eyes widened even more, as did Lorelai's smile.

"NO! No! Oh my God, really?" Sookie's voice got higher and higher as she got more and more excited. 

Lorelai nodded quickly, happy that she'd made her friend so happy. "But don't let Jackson know that you know… and I'm not gonna tell you when or where he's gonna pop the question cos then it'll ruin it for you, but let me tell you this," Lorelai paused for a second and leaned in closer to Sookie. "You looked amazing in your wedding dress!"

Sookie came crashing down to earth with a thud and looked at Lorelai with a look on her face that reminded Lorelai of the time she had to explain to Rory that Mrs Farrell's dog had gone to the big bone factory in the sky. Lorelai's heart broke. _She doesn't believe me_.

"Look, I know, I know… maybe that wasn't the best example… What about something that's gonna happen really soon. Like… um…" she wracked her brains for something – _anything_ – to suggest. Then it hit her. A sly smile crept across her face. "Tomorrow, meet me near the bridge at 3 o'clock."

Sookie looked puzzled, but followed Lorelai out of her room and downstairs, where after a few glasses of wine, she forgot all about the conversation in the bedroom.

*****

At exactly 3 o'clock the next afternoon, Sookie met Lorelai beside the lake. Lorelai had been waiting for Sookie and had found the _perfect_ position – hidden behind some bushes, with a clear view of the bridge. Sookie stood next to Lorelai for a few seconds in silence before asking "Lorelai, honey, what are we doing here?"

"Shhhh!" Lorelai quickly hushed Sookie. "They'll be here in a second." 

No sooner had Lorelai said that, Luke and Jess came marching around the corner. They stopped suddenly and had a heated argument. Lorelai and Sookie couldn't tell what was being said, but the Danes tradition of waving ones hands around during a mad rant had definitely not been wasted on Jess. 

"Okay, this has gotta be quick." Lorelai broke her gaze and quickly looked towards Sookie. "First: Luke and I haven't planned anything – you can check with him in like twenty minutes when he comes to my place to freak out at what he's gonna to do in like thirty seconds. Second: Jess is about to get very wet."

Sookie's eyes widened and she quickly switched her gaze to the two arguing figures not sixty feet away. Jess and Luke soon stopped arguing and headed towards the bridge, both still very obviously pissed. Suddenly, Luke raised his arm and with one small push, caused Jess to fall off the bridge and into the lake.

And that was all the proof Sookie needed. "I'm getting married in May!"

*****

*****

Okay, whoever suggested that Lorelai tell Sookie, I hope you enjoyed that. I had a lot of trouble finding a reason for her to open up to Sookie, but eventually the words just tumbled out. And for those of you who didn't like my earlier attempts at Jess, I hope I've redeemed myself. I know he's being nice to Rory, but at least he's still being an ass to Lorelai. Please review with any suggestions – I'll try to add them to my story. Thanks to everyone who's already reviewed, and a special thanks again to Len! [PS – the pond scene is one of my favourites too!]


	8. What To Do Next

Hey everyone. Sorry this has taken so long to get out there, but I'm just having a little freak-out to myself over where this is going. I have a plan, and it's just taking a little bit longer than expected to get to where I thought I was headed… anyway, here's another chapter for your enjoyment… 

*****

*****

CHAPTER 8: What to do next…

Sookie and Lorelai had been walking for five minutes, and Sookie had been asking so many questions in such quick succession, Lorelai had hardly had time to answer a question before the next one was asked.

"Sookie…" Lorelai tried to interrupt her friend's babbling, but Sookie hadn't heard her. "Sookie! SOOKIE!" she yelled.

Sookie looked at Lorelai like a deer caught in the headlights. She smiled meekly. "Sorry."

"It's alright, honey, but perhaps that's enough questions for today."

The two women sat down on the front steps of Lorelai's porch, both lost in their thoughts. After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Sookie looked over to Lorelai and asked "So what made you want to tell me, anyway? You've kept it a secret this long… why the change of heart?"

Lorelai sighed thoughtfully. "For a while, things were going great. I'd sorta changed history, which is one hell of a power trip, let me tell you," she smiled. "I mean, last time, Max and I were engaged, and I broke his heart. I just wanted to stop that from happening… and I'm so glad that I didn't do that to him _this time_, but now… things are going back to the way they were. Jess… I guess Jess is my main problem. He's still being a punk and I just don't want to go through all that that involves again…"

Sookie could tell Lorelai was upset. "What happened last time?" she asked softly.

"He broke Rory," Lorelai said with bitterness in her voice. "She was okay, it was only a little fracture, but, I dunno… it just made me realise how much I need her in my life… and not only that, Luke and I had this huge fight over the accident and we didn't talk for months." Lorelai started to get upset as she recounted the story of _that night_ to Sookie. "It was horrible," she whispered.

  
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. But this time, it'll be okay! You've set ground rules for Jess and you can stop the accident from happening. Ooh, you'll be like Superman! No, you'll be more like that guy who got the newspapers… and he had that cat… I loved that show, whatever happened to that show?"

Lorelai smiled at her crazy friend. "Yeah, I guess. Just call me SuperMom!"

Sookie giggled, "But you've really got to rethink the wardrobe. Panties on the outside are just not a good look, even if you are made of steel."

Lorelai nodded in agreement, then, choosing her words carefully, continued. "There's something else I need to talk to you about, though, and it has nothing to do with last time… Well, not really anyway. This time… I know why Rachel left." 

Sookie's eyes bulged as she realised what Lorelai might say next. "And…"

"It was because of me, Sook. I don't know the specifics, but I think she left because she thought I had a _thing_ for Luke," Lorelai snorted.

Sookie eyed her friend suspiciously. "Well…?" 

  
"Well what? Well nothing!" Lorelai automatically denied everything and anything to do with her having a 'thing' for Luke.

"Are you sure? I mean… there isn't _anything_ there?"

Lorelai sighed. "What is it with you people? My mother, and Max, although he didn't suggest anything this time, but _last_ time, and _you_ after Rory's play… again, hasn't happened, but ya still did it!"

Sookie was having trouble keeping up with Lorelai's rant. "Okay, Lorelai, if you say there's nothing there, there's nothing there, but have you ever really considered the possibility? I mean, _really_ considered it – not just automatically thrown the idea into the trash." 

The two were quiet for a moment before Sookie continued. "Look, I know you're probably gonna jump down my throat for this, but I've got to say it. He _does_ like you, whether you wanna believe it or not, it's there, you just haven't seen it yet."

"Yeah, I have…" Lorelai said very quietly, staring at her hands.

Sookie's eyes widened again – possibly wider this time than the last. "You… you _what_?"

"I saw it. I was joking around a while back and said something to do with him loving me, and he just had this… this _look_." Lorelai shook her head, trapped in her own thoughts. 

"Well… look, honey, I'm not gonna push this, but you've really got to think about whether you… _feel_ anything…" Sookie trod very carefully around the subject. "Just go inside and spend some time with just you and your thoughts."

Lorelai smiled at Sookie. "You forget… I've got a visitor!" 

Right on time, the two women saw Luke walking extremely quickly towards them. "Lorelai, I've done something really bad!"

*****

*****

Thanks again to Len, the legend, for giving me confidence in this story. And for those of you getting grumpy at me for not updating fast enough, I have two things to say: 1) I've been REALLY busy recently because 2) I'm moving this weekend (hence the busy-ness) and won't be able to write anymore to this story after then, so my plan is to FINISH this by Friday. Here's hoping I can do it. I'll write day and night for the next week if necessary, but hopefully I'll get there. Hope you enjoyed and hope you like where I'm going with this… only a few more chapters to go, but they'll be the important ones everyone's been waiting for. 

PS – I need someone's help. Any Australians, please read: As I said, I'm moving and when I move, I won't have access to a VCR. I've taped practically every episode of Gilmore Girls, starting mid-way through season 1. What I'm after is for another crazy Aussie GG fan, like myself, who also plans to tape season 3. I'm willing to pay for the tapes and the postage, and a little extra for your inconvenience, if necessary, but I really really want to get season 3 on video. So if you're an Aussie (preferably on the East Coast), and plan to tape Season 3 of GG and have access to some kind of video-copying thingamajiggy (or have 2 VCRs), please email me: funkyjunkie123@yahoo.com.au Thanks so much!


	9. Again, but not quite

Okay, here's another chapter, not 24 hours after I posted the last. I, for one, am impressed! =c) Alrighty… I could've kept going the way I'd been going and done episode by episode, but I don't have time, so here's the typical old, crappy, let's-skip-a-few-months-and-summarise tactic. Sorry, but as I said, I'm working on a very tight schedule here. Chapter 10's all but finished, and chapter 11 will be the last one, so here's hoping there are still some people out there reading this thing!

*****

*****

CHAPTER 9: Again, but not quite… 

A few months later, Lorelai was sitting in her kitchen, quietly contemplating life's most important questions: What is the meaning of life? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Who was hotter – Brad Pitt or Colin Farrell?

Lorelai hadn't really interfered with what had happened around her over the past few months, but she had saved herself a bit of stress here and there. She hadn't dated Paul-the-kid-from-her-business-class, saving herself the humiliation. She'd asked her mother to co-sign the loan to fix her house, making it seem like Lorelai's idea and attempting to give her the upper hand – unsuccessfully, which was pretty much what Lorelai expected of Emily Gilmore. And she'd been more civil to Jess. She still got angry at him from time to time, but she tried harder to be nice to him, if not for her own peace of mind, for Rory and Luke's. She knew that Jess would _eventually_ become a half-decent kid, and she was having to remind herself of this so often it had become somewhat of a mantra. The one thing that made her whole "Back to the Future" saga worthwhile was Luke. She had been able to silently observe him, figuring out what he thought of her, what she _thought _about what he thought of her and what _she _thought of _him_. It had been a tough couple of months – too much thinking. 

Something else had happened. She wasn't sure when it had happened, or how, but at some stage, she'd stopped loving Christopher. She still _loved _him – he was the reason she had Rory – but she was no longer _in_ love with him. It was because she knew what was going to happen. She knew that they just weren't meant to be together and she had forced herself to stop wanting to be with him. Then one day she had realised that she no longer had to _force _herself to do anything. 

Just as Lorelai was deciding that Colin was far hotter – he had the whole accent thing, after all – there was a knock at the door. 

"Oh, hey Luke," Lorelai said, opening the door and gesturing for him to come inside.

"Hey…" Luke replied, coming inside.

"What's up?"

"Uh, can I talk to Rory?"

Lorelai's eyes widened ever so slightly. _Crap._ She'd almost forgotten about this. 

"Ah, yeah, sure. She's in her room."

Luke looked at Lorelai with an expression that said 'do I go in?'

"Go in, go in," she reassured him, knocking on the door. "Rory, honey, you've got a visitor!"

Rory came to the door dressed in her Chilton uniform, but had taken off her shoes. When she saw Luke standing there, she looked quizzically at him for a split second, then smiled and said "Ah, come in."

As Rory and Luke talked, Lorelai tried her best not to freak out. '_He'll be a good kid, you can stop this, he'll be a good kid, you can stop it from happening again,_' she thought to herself over and over.

When Luke had left, Lorelai went into Rory's room and sat on the blanket box at the end of her bed, where Luke had been sitting just a few minutes before. The box was still slightly warm.

"So, what did Luke want?" she asked nonchalantly, already knowing the answer. 

"He wants me to tutor Jess. Just for a little while…" Rory shrugged. 

"Okay… and you wanna do this?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, Luke obviously needs my help and I figure we owe him about thirty thousand favours, so…" she trailed off again.

Lorelai couldn't disagree with Rory's logic. "Okay, hon. As long as you think you've got the time." Lorelai stood up and lightly tapped her palms on her thighs.

"Yeah, I do. It's okay, Mom, really." Rory smiled at Lorelai, trying to reassure her. 

"Okay, sweetie," Lorelai replied, starting to walk out of Rory's room. "Oh, hey, can I borrow your car for a bit? The Jeep's low on gas and I, ah, just figure, y'know, you've got a car… a car _with _gas!"

Rory looked at Lorelai carefully. "If you're trying to test me, it won't work. No, you can't borrow my car cos 'No one's allowed to drive it but me'," she recited. 

Lorelai smiled broadly. "Good!" she replied, and left the room.

------

That night, Lorelai was at home by herself, preparing to watch Kirk's movie. He had once again given it to her to show at the town movie night, and although she'd promised Rory she wouldn't watch it without her, she figured that _technically_ she had _already_ watched it with Rory… sort of… and besides, she couldn't resist watching Kirk's movie again – it was just too freaky. _Kinda like a train wreck – I can't look away_, Loreali thought to herself. She was just about to press play when the phone rang. 

"Hello?" Loreali answered the phone in her usual, chirpy voice. 

  
"Mom?" The concerned tone in Rory's voice on the other end of the line caused Lorelai to freeze with fear. Memories came flooding back of the car wreck and the broken arm and her fight with Luke…

"Rory, what is it? Are you okay, honey? What is it? Mommy's freaking out here!"

Lorelai could hear Rory quietly crying on the other end of the phone. "Mom, I'm alright, but… Mom, I got in an accident."  
  
"You let Jess drive the car, Rory? I told you not to…" 

  
Before Lorelai could end her sentence, Rory interrupted her. "No, Mom, Jess wasn't driving, I was… and… and Jess got hurt and… and…" she started crying again. 

Lorelai was at first filled with relief – Rory wasn't hurt. But then she realised that everything had changed. Jess was hurt, and she didn't know how badly. 

  
"Rory, honey, what's wrong with Jess?" Lorelai was suddenly panicked. If something had happened to him, it was entirely her fault. 

"We're at the hospital," Rory tried to hold back the tears. "The doctors haven't told me anything. I think he's okay, but… I… I think his leg's broken, Mom…" Rory started crying again "and it's all my fault…"

"Rory, honey, it was an accident…" Lorelai stopped herself mid sentence. It _was_ an accident. Rory would never _ever_ do anything stupid or crazy or irresponsible on purpose. And last time, last time Jess was driving and… it was an accident then too… Loreali suddenly felt unbelievably guilty. 

"Rory," Lorelai choked back tears, "Honey, have you called Luke? Has anyone called him?"

"No, I don't think so… Mom, can you call him? I don't think I could…" Rory sounded so small and fragile over the phone.

"Sure, sweetie. I'll talk to him. It's okay, honey. It was an accident." Lorelai's last sentence rang through her ears over and over as she drove towards the diner.

*****

*****

Again, thanks to Len. And please, guys, REVIEW! I love to get reviews! They make my day that much better! Thanks, and just remember, only 2 chapters to go after this one…


	10. Broken Legs and New Perspectives

Okay, here it is, the second-to-last chapter. Hope you like it! [And as always, thanks to Len – my official **_B_**eta-**_R_**eader].

*****

*****

CHAPTER 10: Broken Legs and New Perspectives.

Lorelai had been standing, banging on the door to Luke's diner for a few minutes when she noticed the lights flicker on inside. Seconds later, Luke was on the other side of the door, quickly unlocking it. 

"Lorelai, what's wrong?" he asked, obviously worried. 

"Luke, there's been an accident…" 

  
Luke cut her off "What? Is Rory okay? What happened?"

_Rory?_ Lorelai thought. _His first thought was of _Rory_?_ "No, Luke, it's Jess."

Luke's eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. "What happened?" he asked shakily as he exited the diner and began to lock the door behind him.

"He's okay, I think. Rory called from the hospital. They went for a drive and… she crashed the car, Luke. I'm so sorry." Lorelai waited for Luke to freak out, or rant, or do _something_, but instead, he just walked towards her Jeep, got into the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt. 

Lorelai got into the driver's seat and started the engine in silence. She pulled away from the curb and drove in the direction of the hospital. 

--------

Lorelai and Luke had been driving in silence for twenty-five minutes when Lorelai finally spoke up.

"Are you okay?"

Luke looked down at his intertwined hands, sighed and then returned his gaze to the road. "I think so."

Lorelai glanced at him quickly. She could tell he was scared. "It's okay. Rory said he was okay. She thinks his leg might be broken, but other than that, he's okay."

Luke nodded silently.

  
"Are you mad?" Lorelai asked quietly.

Luke looked at her as if she'd just suggested that he enter the annual Stars Hollow Swimsuit Model Contest. "Why would I be mad?"

Lorelai felt like crying. I_ was mad_, she thought. 

"You're amazing, Luke," was all she could say. She silently wiped a tear that was threatening to fall from her eye and glanced at him once more before looking back at the road in front of her. 

Luke was unsure of how to reply to a comment like that, so he decided the best thing to do was to just sit there in silence. 

--------

"Jess!" Luke rushed towards his nephew, who was sitting on a very clean, white hospital bed with his legs lying in front of him, one newly covered in a cast. Rory, whose eyes were red from crying rushed to her mom and hugged her without saying a word. 

"Hey Uncle Luke. I didn't know you cared," Jess said in his usually dry, sarcastic tone, but it was obvious Jess was glad to see Luke.

"What happened?" Luke asked seriously.

"Nothin'. I mean, we went to get ice cream and this… I dunno, a cat or somethin' ran in front of the car. It wasn't Rory's fault, it was an accident," Jess shrugged and looked at Rory reassuringly.

Lorelai smiled at Jess. "You okay?"

Jess looked at Lorelai with a slightly shocked look in his eye. "Yeah, fine. Thinkin' of joining Irish Dancing lessons next week, actually," he rolled his eyes, gesturing to his leg. 

Before Lorelai could say anything, not that she had anything to say – she was starting to see a side of Jess that she had seen once before but had forgotten was there – a doctor wearing a long, white coat entered the room and cleared his throat to announce his arrival. 

"Oh, hey, George!" Lorelai smiled at the same doctor who had taken care of Rory when she'd broken her arm. He obviously missed her joke – as did everyone else in the room – and continued with what he had come to say.

"Ah, you must be Luke," the doctor held his hand out and Luke shook it. 

"Yeah, hi," Luke said, obviously a bit uncomfortable about having to be in a hospital. They were awful places – full of disease and sadness. People rarely received good news at hospitals and Luke didn't like seeing people cry.

"Jess is okay. He's broken the tibia in his left leg, but other than that, he's fine. It was only a hairline fracture so we should be able to take the cast of in about six weeks."

"Are you sure you've checked everything?" Everyone looked at Lorelai. Jess, Rory and Luke looked at her as if she had two heads, while the doctor smiled and assured her that Jess was fine and no more tests needed to be done. 

"He hasn't got a concussion or anything?" Again – two heads.

The doctor chuckled lightly. "No, Mrs Danes, he's fine. You can take him home now," he said, smiling, before leaving the room.

Lorelai stared at the doctor's retreating figure and then uncomfortably at Luke who was smirking at her obvious embarrassment. 

"Aunty Lorelai, can you tuck me in tonight?" Jess's broken leg had done nothing to quash his sarcastic streak. 

Lorelai smiled a sweet, sarcastic smile at Jess, ignoring his comment. 

"Come on, let's go home," she said, heading for the door. As she walked past Jess, Lorelai smacked his cast lightly, causing him to wince in pain. She smiled to herself and walked out of the room, letting the door swing closed behind her.

--------

A few days later, Lorelai was sitting on her couch in front of the TV, talking to herself.

"Come _on_ Liv, go for the drummer. Go for Guy. We love Guy. Guy is our hero! I now proclaim this new land in the name of _Guy_!"

She was interrupted when there was a knock at the door. She pressed the 'stop' button on the remote, threw it in the direction of the couch and quickly walked towards the door. When she opened it, she saw Luke standing there, looking like plain old Luke with his slightly dirty flannel shirt, his old, warn jeans and the baseball cap that she'd given him. 

_Whatever happened to his old one? _ The thought flickered through her mind and was gone as quickly as it had appeared. 

"Hey Luke, what's up? How's Jess doin'?"

Luke pushed his mouth into a slight smile and nodded, replying "Good, yeah, he's okay. Still havin' trouble with the whole 'crutches-up-stairs' thing, but other than that, he's fine."

Lorelai had been doing a lot of thinking since the car accident. More thinking than was usually required of her, and her head had started to hurt. She'd realised a few things, though. She realised how much she loved and needed Rory. A realisation that was quite surprising to her, however, was that she actually, sort of, a teeny tiny bit cared for Jess's well being. But the realisation that freaked her out the most was that she might actually have a 'thing' for Luke.

Luke stood looking at Lorelai. "Ah, can I come in?" He gestured towards the inside of the house. 

Lorelai laughed uncomfortably, as if he'd been able to tell what she had just been thinking. "Yeah, sure, sorry." She opened the door and moved aside to let him enter. As she watched him walk past her, a strange feeling entered her stomach. It was somewhere right down the bottom, not quite butterflies and not quite PMT. And her legs were a little wobbly for a few seconds. _That _had certainly not happened before.

"So, what's up?" she forced herself to say as steadily as possible. 

"Ah, nothin' much. Just had a break at the diner, got kinda quiet, and thought I'd come see how you were doin'."

Lorelai smiled and raised her eyebrows. "I'm good, I'm fine. Yep, totally dandy here."

"What I meant was…" Luke sighed, trying to think of how to say what he needed to say next. "Just, thanks for being there and… just tell Rory that it wasn't her fault."

Lorelai smiled again. "Yeah, she knows. She was convinced for a while there that she was going straight to hell, but she knows now that accidents happen." Again, there was that word – _accident._

Lorelai cleared her throat, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence that had somehow made its way into her house. "Ah, did you want a drink or something?" she asked, heading into the kitchen.

"Sure. Thanks." Luke followed her and sat at the kitchen table while she took two glasses from the cabinet and placed them on the table.

  
"What'll it be… juice, coke… okay, maybe not coke… milk?" Lorelai looked over her shoulder at Luke, who was smirking at her. 

"Ah, water'll be fine thanks."

"Ah, again, my speciality!" Lorelai smiled at Luke and pulled two bottles of water from the fridge. She then sat in the seat next to him and unscrewed the lid to her bottle.

"So… how've you been coping with the whole Jess thing?" Lorelai asked, looking at Luke with quiet contemplation.

"Yeah, fine. Actually, it's kinda good in a way. He can't just go 'out' anymore – he can't hobble too far on crutches." Luke smiled to himself as he unscrewed the lid to his bottle of water. 

Lorelai looked at Luke smiling, and the funny wobbly feeling returned to her stomach. For some reason, him smiling like that made Lorelai do something she never thought she'd ever do… _ever_. Meeting his eyes, she leaned over slowly and kissed Luke very softly on the lips. The kiss was over before it had even really started, but the implications of the kiss were far more important than the kiss itself.

*****

*****

There you go… hope you liked it! There's an epilogue to come – it's teeny tiny, but it has a bit of a twist to it, so I hope you enjoy it. 

I have a theory as to why scenes where Luke and Lorelai get together are always crap – it's because it hasn't _actually _happened yet. For instance, I was reading a fic a while ago where Jess said something like "You're crazy" to Luke while chewing on a hamburger or something. And I could _totally_ picture it, but then I realised it was because Jess has actually done that on the show – spoken with his mouth full. Anyway, my point is that until they actually _do_ get together, everyone's gonna be sceptical when Luke and Lorelai get together in fanfics. Hope my version was slightly acceptable…

Epilogue up within the next day.

And please review! I've had 3 reviews since posting the last 3 chapters! I love reviews – they brighten my day and make the hours of slaving in front of a computer screen, typing thousands upon thousands of words worthwhile! So please, REVIEW!!!


	11. Epilogue

The end is in sight! Hope you've all enjoyed my supposed-to-be-short-but-ended-up-11-chapters-long story! I love movies and books that have little twists at the end, so I've put in what I think is a cute little twist to this story. Enjoy, and remember to review!

*****

*****

EPILOGUE: Dreams Really Do Come True.

Three months later, Lorelai was woken by an obnoxiously loud, annoying, ringing noise. She rolled over and shut off her alarm, snuggling back under the covers without opening her eyes. Then the annoying noise was back – threefold. Lorelai opened her eyes and looked around at the half a dozen alarm clocks lying throughout her room before her eyes landed on the clock sitting on the table next to her bed. It read 7:01.

Before she had time to realise it, Lorelai had called out "You are hilarious!" She stopped herself, blinked and shook her head before getting out of bed and walking downstairs.

When Lorelai arrived in the kitchen, Luke was standing at the stove, cooking something that smelled amazing.

Lorelai smirked to herself as she pulled the coffee container from the freezer and without bothering to sniff it, turned to Luke and stated – "This is decaf!"

Luke turned to Lorelai and very innocently replied "What are you talking about?" before returning his attention to the stove. 

Lorelai sat down at the kitchen table, unable to remove the smile from her face. "Never mind," she sighed contently. 

"You lookin' forward to seeing Rory?" Luke asked, smiling back at Lorelai.

"Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back?" 

"I'll take that as a yes," Luke chuckled, turning back to the stove.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Luke turned back and placed a plate of food in front of Lorelai. "I've gotta get to the diner. I'll be home early."

Luke leant down and kissed Lorelai softly on the mouth. "Goodbye crazy lady," he smiled before leaning further down and kissing her stomach. "Goodbye Sid and Nancy."

Lorelai smiled as Luke left the house and whispered quietly to herself "Leopold and Loeb."

~The End~

*****

*****

Hope you liked it. In my world, dreams are actually alternate realities, not just subconscious thoughts. Please, PLEASE review and make my day absolutely stunning! 

Any comments or questions you want me to directly read/answer, feel free to email me: funkyjunkie123@yahoo.com.au 


End file.
